Sensitivity studies of high-precision methane column concentration inversion using a line-by-line radiative transfer model

Abstract

Hyper-spectral remote sensing may provide anβeffective solutionβto retrieve the methane (CH₄) concentration in an atmospheric column. As a result of exploringβthe absorptive characteristics of CH₄,βan appropriate band is selected from hyperspectral data for the detection ofβitsβcolumn concentration with high precision. Following the most recent inversion theory and methods, the line-by-line radiative transfer model (LBLRTM) is employed to forward model the impact of four sensitive factors on inversion precision, including CH₄ initial profile, temperature, overlapping gases, and surface albedo. The results indicate that the four optimized factors could improve the inversion precision of atmospheric CH₄ column concentration.

Keywords

methane / inversion / radiance / sensitivity / forward model / high precision

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2010CB951603) and the Shanghai Science and Technology Support Program-Special for EXPO (No. 10DZ0581600). The computation was supported by the High Performance Computer Center of East China Normal University. We thank Prof. Jietai Mao of the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, Peking University, China for providing expert advice and assistance regarding in inversion theory and methods, the line-by-line radiative transfer model.

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg